BHQF

Last week I had the pleasure of participating in The Contemporary’s first artist retreat. The first, I hope, of many. For four days, 50 artists from Baltimore joined dozens of “consultants” and “guests” that included national arts professionals and artists, representatives from nonprofit organizations, gallerists, curators, and critics at a Jewish retreat center with a farm in rural Maryland. The program included presentations from artists, numerous panels and workshops, and one-on-one meetings; all catered towards networking or “this weird vortex hellhole that is professional development for artists,” as director Deana Haggag described it. What follows is a diary assembled from the notes I ended up scribbling near-constantly.

Open Space’s seventh annual Publications and Multiples Fair ran on Saturday and Sunday this past weekend at the Baltimore Design School. PMF is one of my all-time favorite art events—attracting DIY press, small publishers, artist-run spaces, and hundreds of artists working in a surprising variety of media. It’s free, most of the art is incredibly affordable, and the general vibe is somewhere between art fair and garage sale at a punk house.

The shear breadth of artists’ goods that one can actually buy is totally overwhelming—I’m sure I didn’t even see 60% of the highlights, but I snapped some photos of what caught my eye.

Finally, a manageable week for New York. If you survived Armory Week and still want to look at art, we salute you. Thankfully, this is a calm week for the city. While we’re busy preparing for our own Spring Break fundraiser next week, you can also unwind with some low-key art events. Thursday, check out several centuries of the macabre at Ricco/Maresca Gallery. Friday, return to the living with Genesis Breyer P-Orridge’s reincarnation-informed solo show at Rubin Museum of Art. Then head to the Bruce High Quality Foundation’s Sunset Park digs for an artist talk and party to kick off the BHQFU Book Fair. Be sure to come back Saturday for more readings, activities, and goodies from vendors. Sunday, check out Foxy Production’s new Chatham Square digs. Save your energy, though, because you’ll want it for our party next week!

Now that we’re all back from our art-world summer vacation, looking at our schedules can be mildly panic-inducing. Have no fear, we have a syllabus to help you navigate one very hectic September week. Tonight, there are more openings in the Lower East Side than one can possibly see between the hours of six and eight. We recommend prioritizing Regina Rex and 247365, which will be opening a new exhibition space adjacent to their gallery at 57 Stanton. Thursday, head up to Chelsea for a new video installation by Christian Marclay at Paula Cooper, a solo show from Andrew Birk at Johannes Vogt, and a very-timely video piece about the alienation of migrant women by the multi-national artist Elektra KB at BravinLee programs. Friday night, there’s no one Manhattan neighborhood to call homeroom. Sprint from Printed Matter to White Columns to the BHQF’s Foundation University Gallery (FUG) for some new, up-close but not-too-personal in flagrante delicto scenes from the legendary Betty Tompkins.

Saturday afternoon, the must-see event is undoubtedly the Knockdown Center’s Internet Yami-Ichi, an informal marketplace for all things net-art related. AFC’s own Corinna Kirsch with Dylan Schenker will be releasing a zine encyclopedia of everything you need to know about the internet in 2015. Saturday night, there are openings all over Brooklyn, but we recommend heading to REVERSE for an evening of virtual reality escapism. Sunday, check out early drawings from queer filmmaker Barbara Hammer at Company Gallery, a thrift-store-themed show at Soloway, and a panel discussion on Snapchat featuring AFC alumn Matthew Leifheit at Signal. PHEW.

If fair overload doesn’t kill you this week, the events will. Get ready for the Whitney Biennial, the Last Brucennial, and a throwdown show by Anthony Antonellis at Transfer this weekend. Don’t count on sleeping this week.

Take an elevator to the 7th floor of an open-air parking garage, and you’ll find Piston Head, an exhibition of over a dozen artist-designed cars, motorcycles, and trucks shipped from all over the world.

“Want to see a very big show of very bad art? Sure you do, to be up on present trends in bigness and badness.” The New Yorker disses Matthew Day Jackson’s show up at Hauser & Wirth. [The New Yorker]

New York state has dismissed the gender discrimination suit filed by El Museo del Barrio’s former director, Margarita Aguilar. One board member supposedly told her to “pluck her eyebrows, lose weight and wear more expensive clothing.” [Art in America]

The National Law Review weighs in on the legalities surrounding the Detroit Institute of Arts, and whether its collection can be sold to cover the city’s bankruptcy. [The National Law Review]

The BHQF has come out with a series of “how-to videos that equip you with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in today’s contemporary art market.” [MOCAtv]

Yesterday Occupy Wall Street took to the streets once more in honor of its second anniversary. Anger remains hot over closing hospitals and Wall Street speculators who have not faced charges for the stock market crash of 2008. [The Huffington Post]

Well, some kids are dumb. College students imitating moves from Miley Cyrus’ music video “Wrecking Ball,” started riding a piece of public art at Grand Valley State University. The sculpture has now been removed. [Business Insider]